Summary: Ms B complains the Council has failed to take appropriate action against children playing ball games in her street. The Ombudsman will not investigate the complaint because an investigation will achieve no useful outcome.

The complaint

1. The complainant, who I refer to as Ms B, says the Council should take action to address children’s ball games in her street. She says it should put up ‘no ball games’ signs and write to the parents of the children concerned.

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The Ombudsman’s role and powers

2. We investigate complaints about ‘maladministration’ and ‘service failure’. In this statement, I have used the word ‘fault’ to refer to these. We must also consider whether any fault has had an adverse impact on the person making the complaint. I refer to this as ‘injustice’. We provide a free service but must use public money carefully. We may decide not to start or continue with an investigation if we believe:

• it is unlikely we would find fault, or
• we cannot achieve the outcome someone wants, or
• there is another body better placed to consider this complaint. (Local Government Act 1974, section 24A(6), as amended)

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How I considered this complaint

3. In considering the complaint I reviewed the information provided by Ms B and the Council. I gave Ms B the opportunity to comment on my draft decision.

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What I found

4. Ms B complained to the Council about children continually playing ball games in her street which had led on one occasion to minor damage to her car. She said she had approached the parents of the children concerned but had received a hostile response and she asked the Council to put up ‘no ball games’ signs and write to the parents.
5. While Ms B had used the free online complaint tool known as Resolver to submit her complaint and to chase the Council’s response to it, she did not receive a response and the Resolver documentation does not show that the Council received the complaint.
6. When contacted by the Ombudsman, the Council initially said the complaint should be directed to Ms B’s local borough or district council. However, it subsequently addressed the complaint and set out the information it would have given Ms B had its Highways Team received her complaint.
7. The Council has explained that playing football on the public highway to the annoyance of a highway user is an offence under the Highways Act 1980 and that the Police is the enforcing authority. It further explained that it does not put up signs on highway land to indicate prohibitions, such as no ball games, because such signs cannot indicate all prohibitions as these would be too numerous.
8. The Council has clarified that playing ball games in itself is not against the law or considered to be a form of anti-social behaviour. However, if such games are deliberately and persistently played recklessly and cause property damage then they can be classed as anti-social behaviour which it and the Police will take seriously. It has advised that initially Ms B could contact her local neighbourhood policing team for advice and assistance. It also says the Council can respond to complaints from individuals by initiating a neighbourhood survey to gauge feelings in the wider community.

Assessment

9. It appears the Council did not receive the Resolver complaint submitted by Ms B. Although it initially thought the matter was for her local council, it has now provided a response to the complaint which sets out the action Ms B can take next if she wishes to pursue matters. As an investigation by the Ombudsman would not achieve anything further for Ms B, this is not a complaint we will pursue.

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Final decision

10. The Ombudsman will not investigate this complaint. This is because an investigation will achieve no useful outcome.

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Investigator's decision on behalf of the Ombudsman